The Lovers' Competition
by Olidood
Summary: With the Lovers' Competition fast approaching and the love of her life participating with another water mage, Juvia needs a partner so that she can surpass her rival and prove to Gray that she is the only one for him! However, things don't go quite as planned when she falls for her partner. A Luvia story. Set after the Magic Games.
1. The Water Dragon Slayer

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail, that belongs to Hiro Mashima.

**AN: **Well, I hope this is adequate. I'm working on another project at the moment, so this isn't my top priority. I was appalled when I came onto the website and found only eight fanfictions for what I consider to be the _best ship ever! _I will aim to have all of my chapters within the range of 2,000 to 3,000, and I have no idea what the final word count will be yet, but I can pretty much guarantee it will be over 50,000 at least. Any reviews, follows and favourites are much appreciated.

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><p>Practice made perfect. That's what everyone had said, and the basic principle Juvia had lived her life by. Since she was only young, she would practice her water magic everyday, honing her skills. That's how she got to where she was today, the strongest water mage in all of Fiore. At least, she had yet to meet a water mage who surpassed her.<p>

It was the basic rule of repetition that would increase the skills – and it was completely transferable, too. If Juvia were to make Gray love her, she would need to remain persistent in her attempts.

"Gray-sama." Juvia said, preparing to ask him yet again to the Lovers' Competition, a contest taking place in only a week that tested the combined strength and love of a couple. He glanced up, clearly annoyed.

"Gray-sama." Juvia repeated.

"If you're going to ask me to that damn competition, think again."

"Gray-sama…"

"What?" He asked furiously, slamming the sheet of paper he was reading down onto the table.

"Juvia would like to compete in the -"

"Juvia." Gray replied. "I said no."

He sounded fed up. Perhaps Juvia was best leaving him alone for now. After all, too much practice could take its toll. Juvia had been pestering him about it for the past week, ever since she first found out about the Lovers' Competition. It was only natural for her to get this excited, because it would be the perfect opportunity to get close with Gray - Except he didn't seem too interested. He never did, but Juvia knew it was all just an act – Gray was playing hard to get.

"What are you looking at, Gray-sama?" She asked, her eyes falling onto the piece of paper he was reading.

"It's a job offer." He said blandly.

"Is Gray-sama going to invite Juvia?" She questioned.

"No!" He stood up, pushing himself back from the table. "Juvia, I'm not interested in you that way. I don't want to give you the cold shoulder, but you don't give me much choice with how much you smother me."

Of course. Gray was very shy, Juvia had to accept that. She and Gray would have to take things slowly, so perhaps Juvia should lay off just a little bit. She would ask him again later.

"Juvia understands." She said. "But know that Juvia will be available if you wish to invite her."

"Yeah." He said. "Okay, we'll go on a mission together later. But I need to think for now, okay?"

"Okay." Juvia nodded. She turned around, and as hard as it was, she walked away from her love. She would bring the idea up again, during the mission with Gray, when he had loosened up a bit. Juvia just had to compete in the Lovers' Competition with Gray, it was her destiny to become one with him. It was nearly time for that destiny to be fulfilled. In addition, if they won, they would get a whole week paid for vacation on a tropical island. Alone!

Juvia pressed her hands to her cheeks, imagining the scenes that would unfold. Gray and Juvia all alone for a week, she could almost see him stripping his top off – not that that would even be unusual, but climbing afterwards into the hot spring with Juvia. She couldn't wait for the romantic ventures that would ensue.

Suddenly the front guild doors flung open. No one turned to see what the ruckus was, seeing as everybody in the guild was usually noisy, and this was seemingly insignificant, but Juvia was already facing the door. She was the first to see her. The first to see the latest threat. The first to see the new blunette.

She stood in the doorway, her beautiful blue hair cut short, but still wavering slightly as the wind blew through. This was not good. There were already enough blue haired women at Fairy Tail; Juvia had enough troubles with Levy and Wendy as it was. Any more blues and Juvia would be less unique and just a bore to Gray.

"Can Juvia help you?" She asked, approaching the stranger. This woman's hair was a different shade though; it was light in comparison to Juvia's deep blue, more like Levy's.

"Yeah, this is Fairy Tail, right? I'd like to meet your dragon slayers." She said, loudly, boldly and confidently. At least she had no business with Gray.

"Which one?" Juvia asked.

She laughed then, a loud laugh that suddenly cut off after a couple of seconds. "That's the thing about Fairy Tail, they have lots! Well, four, and one of 'ems a fake. Which ones are in?"

"All of them." Juvia replied. She turned and pointed to the pink-haired boy standing by the jobs board. "The idiot's there." She said. "The kid, the fake and Gajeel will be here somewhere, too."

"Great!" The woman exclaimed. She turned to Juvia and extended her hand. "I'm Cinda." She had a huge grin plastered on her face, which Juvia found unnerving. Regardless, she took her hand and shook it.

"Juvia." She replied.

"Great to meet you, Juvy. I'm gonna go talk to the…" She trailed off as her head turned, and her eyes seemed to rest on a single point behind Juvia. "Who is that hottie?" Juvia spun her head quickly to see where the woman was looking. Please not Gray, please not Gray, she begged. She really did not need another love rival. Her eyes found the point. It was, much to her dismay, Gray.

"Stay away from Gray-sama!" Juvia exclaimed. "Gray-sama loves only Juvia, you cannot move his heart!"

"Well if I can't move his heart, what are you so worried about?" She said, standing her ground. She was indeed a threat.

"Leave Gray-sama alone." Juvia replied coldly. "Or you will regret it." Of course, Juvia was only half serious. She would definitely not be happy if Gray ran off with this new girl, but she wouldn't exactly hurt her. Not physically, anyway.

"Fine, fine." Cinda replied, taking a step back and then turning to look at the pink haired boy. "I'm not here to stay anyway."

"Juvia is pleased." Juvia couldn't help it – it had just slipped out. The girl frowned, then walked off towards Natsu at the job board.

Juvia would need to stay around Gray and deflect any moves this new girl made on him. She would protect him with all of her heart, but Juvia wished that she would just leave her future boyfriend alone.

"Juvia! Are you busy?" Asked a familiar friendly voice. Juvia turned her head to see Lucy standing by the door. She came in slowly, her head turning to the new figure walking towards Natsu.

"Who's that?" she asked.

"Her name is Cinda." Juvia replied. "She wanted to speak to Natsu and the other Dragon slayers."

"What for?"

"Juvia does not know." Lucy walked off towards the light blue-haired girl. Deciding she had nothing else to do, Juvia followed her.

"So you've got a Fire, Air, Electric and Metal dragon slayer here already. That's pretty cool." She said. She placed a hand on her chest. "I'm a water dragon slayer myself."

"What happened to your dragon?" Natsu asked almost immediately.

She sighed, and Juvia thought that for a moment she almost seemed sad. "She disappeared."

"The same thing happened to Igneel and the other dragons!" He exclaimed. "Hey, you should join Fairy Tail! We can all look for them together."

No, this was not what Juvia wanted. She was a water mage, she had blue hair – She was trying to replace Juvia! What if Gray forgot which was which? What if - Juvia noticed said ice mage approaching.

"A new member?" he asked "That's something we haven't got in a while."

"Well, I don't know." She said, scratching the back of her head. "I was just stopping by, I've never met any other Dragon Slayers before."

"Stay!" Natsu insisted. "Become one of the family!"

"I-"

"At least come on a mission with us." Gray said. It was beginning! Juvia would not lose to this new Cinda girl.

"Well, I guess I could, if that's okay with y'all." She said hesitantly.

"Erza's away on an S Class mission though, so we'll have to do without her." Lucy said. "So the five of us can go. Gray, you've got a mission, right?"

"Hey!" Natsu exclaimed. "What about Happy?"

"The _six_ of us can go on this mission." Gray said, showing them the flyer he had picked up earlier. "We need to teach some bandits a lesson."

Before Juvia even knew what was happening, she had boarded a carriage with Gray, Natsu, Lucy, Happy and Cinda. Natsu and Cinda both sat, their heads down between their knees as they both looked like they were about to throw up. Juvia couldn't help but feel a small smile spread upon her face at the water dragon slayer's misfortune.

What she could not smile at was at how Gray sat besides the new dragon slayer, his hand rubbing her back as if to make her feel better. Juvia almost envied Cinda for a moment. Lucy tried engaging in conversation with her, but Juvia was too busy watching Gray massage Cinda's back, wishing that it were her own back instead.

They arrived at the town, Yarinole, just as the sun was setting. They paid their fare, then made their way to the town hall where they met the chief of the town.

"Need us to protect your village?" Natsu asked enthusiastically.

"Yes, I do." He replied sternly. He turned to the others; probably noting that Natsu wasn't the one to talk to. "They've been attacking our village every night for the past week. They want us to give them our money, but obviously that's not happening. I want you to teach them that Yarinole isn't the village to mess with."

"Can do!" Natsu looked around then back at the chief. "Where are these guys you need us to beat up?"

The chief sighed. "They'll be back here this night, in a few hours. Until then I'll need you to stand guard at three different locations."

"Three different locations?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, they always attack one of them first." He said. "So you'll need to split up into three."

"Juvia will go with Gray-sama." Juvia found herself saying instinctively.

"No." Gray-sama said. "I'd like to team up with our new member. I want to see what she's made of." He smirked at her. Juvia felt her heart sink. Rejection… And that silly smirk was directed at Cinda… Not her! Stay calm Juvia, she told herself. Gray… he wouldn't be lured over so easily.

"It's okay Juvia, you can come with me." Lucy said, smiling. "It's been a while since just the two of us have teamed up, huh?"

Juvia remembered the last time she had teamed up alone with the celestial spirit mage. It was when the two were at the tower of heaven, fighting that punk together. Lucy and the friendship of Fairy Tail had warmed her heart then, and Juvia couldn't help but smile upon remembering it. That whole situation had nothing to do with Gray, which only proved… Juvia was brought back to reality. No, she did need Gray to be happy.

Juvia would team with Lucy, for now. She longed to be by Gray's side, but he wasn't accepting that at the moment. The new dragon slayer was getting in the way, which was completely unacceptable. Cinda was making herself at home too much.

"Where will we be guarding?" Juvia asked, her eyes locking onto the chief's.

"There's a tower over there." He said, pointing to a tower at the other side of the town. "By the pond just back where you came from, and at the church over there." He finished, gesturing to the final building.

"We'll take the pond." Cinda said before anyone else could have a say. She nudged Gray-sama. "Right Gray?"

"Of course. We're gonna need that water." Gray replied.

Juvia… It didn't matter. Juvia could create her own water; she didn't need that filthy peasant pond water.

"Let's go, Happy!" Natsu exclaimed as the blue exceed lifted him up off the ground and began flying to the tall tower.

"I guess we get the church." Lucy said optimistically, before turning back to the chief. "Don't worry! Fairy Tail will get the job done!" She turned towards the church, grabbing Juvia's hand as she began running at a surprisingly slow speed. Juvia eventually joined her, matching her speed until they reached the church.

"Are you okay, Juvia?" Lucy asked as she sat down on a bench in front of the church.

"Juvia is fine."

"Are you sure? We've got plenty of time to talk before any bandits will show up. We're here early."

Juvia sighed, sitting down on the bench next to her friend. She placed her elbows on her knees, resting her head in her palms.

"Juvia is feeling a bit… Melancholic. Gray-sama chose Cinda over Juvia." She admitted.

"It's okay," Lucy said. "Gray just wants to get to know her a bit. He still likes you, Juvia."

"Juvia still wishes Gray-sama would choose her." She replied, deflated.

"Did you ask him to the Lovers' Competition again?"

Juvia replied slowly. "Yes…"

Lucy sighed, shaking her head. "I told you, you're coming on to strong Juvia. You're acting like Vodka when he prefers beer. Subtlety and hints work wonders on guys…" She paused, before adding as an after thought: "Smart guys."

Juvia didn't miss the last part. "Is Lucy attempting to ask Natsu?"

"What?" Lucy exclaimed. "No, no, you've got it all wrong! Natsu and I aren't like that!"

"You like Gray?" Juvia pressed.

"No! I'm not… I'm not interested in either of them at all, apart from as friends." Lucy sighed.

Juvia just stared at Lucy. The celestial spirit had never said anything to infer she had loved Gray; yet Juvia had always taken things the wrong way… Maybe that was one of the reasons Gray didn't love her back. There were probably many reasons Gray didn't love Juvia. Perhaps he was gay. His name was one letter away from it, so the possibility couldn't be dismissed. She just hoped Gray would be her partner in the Lovers' Competition.

The Lovers' Competition was just one week away, and Juvia couldn't wait. The aim of the competition is to find out which is the strongest couple in Fiore. Of course it wasn't that grand, there were bound to be couples that didn't enter for whatever reason, but the games would still be a nice experience. Juvia knew that if she entered with Gray, the two would be unbeatable.

Juvia remained talking to Lucy and pondering her own thoughts for the next few hours, until finally they got some action.

Suddenly Juvia heard a loud rushing of water, and Juvia looked over to see a large jet of water shooting from the other side of the town. Juvia supposed the bandits were attacking that location, where Gray and Cinda were.

"Let's go join them." Lucy said, but Juvia didn't need to be told. She ran with Lucy until they finally came to rest just meters away from their allies. Cinda stood by Gray's side, as she roared her mighty roar. Jets of water shot from her mouth at such a speed Juvia wasn't sure she could match. It hit the bandits, sweeping them all up off their feet and shoving them to the floor.

"Take that, bandits!" Cinda yelled as she sprinted over to them. "Claw of the water dragon!" She yelled as the water at her feet propelled her high into the air. She flew and paused a second, her silhouette blocking the light of the moon, before she spun in the air, and headed straight down at a speed Juvia again doubted she could match. She struck each of the bandits as she landed, before kicking several of them a large distance away from the village.

Cinda turned to the remaining ones, grinning wildly. "This village is off limits." She said in a somewhat crazy voice. She walked back to Gray after that, and by the time she had turned around to check on them they were all gone. Another mission successfully completed, but much to Juvia's discontentment, Cinda seemed to be on par with her abilities. Juvia glanced over at Gray and noticed – No! What was he doing looking at Cinda like that? He was smiling sweetly, his dark blue eyes resting on Cinda's face. Juvia could not accept this. Gray-sama would not fall for Cinda, not while Juvia was around!


	2. Water Battle: Juvia vs Cinda!

**AN: **Chapter 2 is up! Thanks everyone for the favourites and follows, it's inspiring to know some people like my work. :3

So far, I've got no schedule for this, but I should be updating at _least _once a week.

I've been thinking about the ship name. Since there weren't any official ones due to Lucy and Juvia being a rare ship, I just adopted 'Luvia', but I was thinking about what all of you thought. Do you prefer 'Jucy'? 'LuJu'? Or another? If one's considerably popular, I'll change it to that in the summary.

Also, I'm sorry for making Juvia say peasant. It's a phase I'm going through.

As always, any favourites, follows and reviews are much appreciated! Enjoy!

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><p>"Well, now that that's finished, let's get our money and get out of here!" Cinda said, walking past Juvia and Lucy towards the centre of town. Juvia held her tongue, not wanting to anger Gray. What was his deal with her, anyway?<p>

She turned around, facing Juvia with a smirk. "I bet ya can't do anything like that, huh?"

So she was going to provoke Juvia? Then Juvia had no reason to hold back. She glared daggers into her, before speaking. "Juvia can do far better than you!" She asserted.

"Oh really? Want to bet?"

"Yes, Juvia will not lose to a lowly peasant such as yourself."

"Let's bet on Gray's love."

What? Juvia couldn't bet on something as valuable as that. She glanced over to the ice mage. She couldn't do it, _could_ she? She was stronger than Cinda, surely, so what did she have to worry about? And if she won, Cinda would back off, leaving Gray all alone for Juvia. It would eliminate her competition.

"I accept! Juvia cannot lose when Gray-sama's love is on the line!"

"Wait." Gray stuttered. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"No!" Both women exclaimed in union. Gray shrunk back.

Lucy stepped in between the two water mages, placing her palms out in front of each of their chests. "Are you sure you want to fight?" She asked, clearly not wanting things to escalate.

"Yes!" Both women cried.

Lucy laughed nervously. "Well, don't you think we should at least collect the money and get to somewhere more open?"

"No!"

"Move aside, Lucy." Juvia said. "This is a matter between love rivals. You cannot interfere, lest I relabel you a love rival."

Lucy sighed then; knowing it was pointless to stop the fight, and likely not wanting to put herself back on Juvia's bad side. She stepped back, walking until she was a fair distance away, next to Gray.

It was time to show Cinda that Juvia was the strongest water mage in all of Fiore. It was time to show this dragon slayer that Juvia was not a dragon – she would not be slayed. It was time to truly amaze Gray.

"Come at me, bro!" Cinda screamed.

"Water Lock!" Juvia shouted, as a sphere of water immediately encased the dragon slayer. There was only one wizard strong enough to escape this, and that was only possible because it was the exceptional Gray Fullbuster. Of course, Juvia had never truly fought against another water mage, spare for a brief encounter with Aquarius during the grand magic games. Juvia had to be wary and find out what would work against her foe of the same element.

Juvia remembered one of Cinda's primary powers as a dragon slayer a little too late. Cinda's jaw shot open, as she visibly inhaled all of the water in the sphere, drinking it all until she appeared to be floating in mid-air. She dropped to the floor, landing firmly on both of her feet and a hand in the middle for balance. Her head shot up, her emerald green eyes glaring at Juvia with such intensity. Without moving them at all, she brought up her free hand and wiped her mouth.

"Thanks for the drink, Juvy! Your water's pretty good!"

Dragon Slayer or not, she couldn't drink the water if it were nowhere near her mouth. Juvia decided that she would have to only attack anywhere over than her head. The possibility that like Juvia, Cinda may possess a water body came into Juvia's mind. If that was the case, Juvia wasn't sure how she could possibly win.

"Water Dragon's dagger fist!" Cinda called as she ran to Juvia with great speed. She leapt off the ground as she neared Juvia, the water surrounding her fist about to hit her face – but it didn't. It passed through Juvia's water body, and for a second a look of surprise appeared on Cinda's face.

From the look of surprise, Juvia concluded that she didn't have the water body. It was a hasty conclusion, but Juvia didn't have time to think in depth about it. She turned around quickly as Cinda landed on the other side. The dragon slayer looked back, grinning wildly. She had that crazy challenging look in her eyes.

"That's not a good spell to have." She laughed, before lunging towards Juvia. Juvia knew what Cinda was going to do. Juvia shot straight forward, running through Cinda to catch her off guard and escape. Close combat would be dangerous with this dragon slayer. If Juvia's body was made out of water, Cinda was only going to eat her as soon as she got close.

Juvia jumped back away from Cinda, knowing that she needed to target the dragon slayer from afar. "Water Slicer!" She exclaimed as she swung her hands, small sharp blades of water appearing instantaneously, zooming towards Cinda's legs. If Cinda didn't have the water body, all of her attacks would work. Maybe 'work' wasn't the right term, as they could certainly hit her, but being of the same element, many of her attacks weren't likely to do any damage. Her water slicer didn't depend on the element of water, though. It was the size, density and speed that caused the pressure to slice through her victim.

Before it hit her, Cinda slammed her hands down into the ground in front of her, as water shot from the ground in a quick upwards stream. Juvia's blades hit the blunt force of the water, falling to the ground and quickly dissipating. The water ceased its eruption, and Cinda raised both of her arms into the air. She brought down the huge masses of water, throwing them at Juvia with all her might.

No problem, Juvia thought. She let the water rush over her, but suddenly Cinda had disappeared. "Water dragon's teleportation!" She yelled as she came rushing down onto Juvia from behind. Teleportation would allow Cinda to get close whenever she wanted, meaning Juvia was in constant danger of being consumed. This was quite disadvantageous for Juvia.

Juvia rotated forward in the water, before shooting her foot backwards and delivering a swift kick to Cinda's torso. She pushed off her, swimming away to leave the water. Juvia and Cinda seemed to be inside a large water sphere, much like the one Juvia had fought in during the magic games. Juvia couldn't trust this water. It was all Cinda's water, and therefore under her direct control – she would have to leave the water to continue the battle.

The rain woman reached the edge of the sphere, her arms and head leaving the prison of water. As she continued to swim out, she felt a grip around her ankle, forcing her lower half to stay inside. Juvia turned quickly to see her foe grabbing onto her and pulling back with all her might, as she shoved her face into Juvia's foot. She briefly considered that maybe this woman had a foot fetish, but quickly brushed it off as she realised her true intentions.

"Water slicer!" Juvia knew a kick to the face would only give the dragon slayer what she wanted, regardless of which of the two it was. Cinda was forced back, using the water in the sphere to protect herself from the attack. Juvia slid out; finally free from the enemy's water and now back on her own two feet.

Juvia was running out of options. A direct hit with water slicer would be effective, but she could block that with water of her own. She needed something with a much higher penetrating power, she needed… Juvia had never made up a spell in the middle of a battle before. But she knew how. She knew how she could theoretically break through the barrier.

"Water needle!" She shot from each of her hands a tiny, but highly dense droplet of water. It was but a pinprick, a speck of dust, flying towards the dragon slayer with immense speed. Cinda noticed it. But that didn't matter.

"Water Dragon's wall!" Cinda attempted to counter, using the same wall of water she had created earlier. Juvia knew this time she could not simply block her attack. The water droplet pierced the wall, and Juvia could only guess what happened behind. The wall disappeared a few seconds later, and Cinda rubbed her tummy, making an 'mmm' sound. "Thanks for the snack, Juvy!"

Juvia clenched her fists. She was mocking her, how dare she! Juvia's attempt had failed, but she couldn't stop now. She would have to catch the dragon slayer by surprise. She asked herself a simple question that would determine the outcome of this battle: Whose water was faster?

"Water cane!" Water shot from Juvia, wrapping around Cinda's wrists and tying them together behind her back, another strip of water whipping the dragon slayer's back. Success!

"Water teleportation!" Damn it! Juvia needed to think tactically, and find out the conditions that needed to be met to do certain magic, and all of her weaknesses… Juvia felt her chest being sucked out through her back. Was it too late? A spark of realisation shot through her. Where was she stood? She was stood in an extremely shallow pool of water, the remnants of the large sphere created beforehand. It was Cinda's water. It was then also extremely likely that Cinda had also been stood in this water.

The whole ground was covered in it, the leftovers of the giant sphere. Yes, Juvia had figured it out, albeit too late. Cinda could teleport to any other source of her water under the conditions she was touching her water herself. Juvia knew better now, but even as she fought, she found the attempt futile. Her whole body weakened, and she was completely frozen in place.

Juvia knew what was happening, but it was all too quick for her to do anything. Cinda was drinking Juvia's body away, slurping on her like lemonade. Juvia felt violated. Even as she began to feel completely empty, Juvia remained fighting. She couldn't compete properly anymore, and her head had grown fuzzy. Instead she fought the battle of staying awake. Juvia kept her eyes open, staring at where Cinda had been stood only seconds before Juvia's defeat. Juvia remained conscious for a few more seconds, until finally Cinda drank her head and everything turned black.

Juvia woke up feeling horrible with the knowledge that she had lost. Not only had she proven herself to be worse than this new mage, but she had also bet Gray's love on this fight. She had lost Gray's love. She found her eyes darting up to the ice mage.

"Gray-sama…"

"You fought well, Juvia." Gray told her. "Especially seeing as Cinda had the advantage of being a dragon slayer."

Juvia wanted to feel happy that Gray was complimenting her. But… Cinda was better. Cinda had won Gray's love.

"Gray-sama didn't agree on the bet." Juvia said suddenly. "It's unfair to-"

Gray-sama raised his hand, and Juvia was silenced immediately. "A bet's a bet." He said. "And Cinda won."

Did Gray like Cinda? Juvia had noticed the subtle signals, but the two of them had only just met. They giggled together. He was probably joking, he didn't love Cinda. You couldn't love someone you'd only known for… Juvia's thoughts trailed off. Yes, you could. After all, it had only taken a matter of seconds for Juvia to fall in love with Gray.

"I'd like to fight you again sometime, Juvy." Cinda said from above her. Juvia picked herself up off the floor, brushing the dust off of her body. After realising she had just been inside Cinda's mouth, Juvia felt even more violated than she had beforehand. She would need a nice long bath once she got home.

"Juvia… will consider it." She muttered as she turned and began walking away from the group. Juvia was humiliated at the situation. She just wanted to curl up in a ball and… She was wrong all along. Lucy Heartfilia was never a threat to Juvia Lockser. She wasn't her rival in love. But this water mage, this dragon slayer – She was Juvia's eternal rival in love. Her true rival in love. Juvia would not lose.

As Juvia boarded the carriage with the others, again, Gray sat next to Cinda, holding her shoulder and patting her back. Juvia… Juvia loved Gray, even more than she loved being herself. She wished she could be Cinda for just a moment, so she could feel the warm hand of the ice mage on her back. She was brought out of her fantasies as she felt a small clasp on the back of her shoulder. She turned to see the celestial spirit mage smiling softly at her.

"I think we need a bit of girl time." She said. "What do you say just you and me go on a mission tomorrow? You know, something fun and easy. What do you say?"

Juvia thought about it. It would be nice, but… The thought of staying at home curled up alone in the bath all day seemed somewhat appealing. She wasn't sure if she could face the outside world.

"Juvia declines." She eventually decided with a straight face. Perhaps another day. Lucy was a good friend after all. In addition she wasn't her rival in love anymore, so perhaps now the two could finally develop their friendship that would no longer be restricted by their mutual interest in Gray.

After Juvia arrived back home at Fairy Hills, she did exactly what she had planned. She ran herself a hot steamy bath, before climbing in and curling up into a ball. She just laid there with no expression on her face, every thought in Juvia's mind slowing to a halt. Water was always the best therapy for Juvia. It had a calm, soothing effect that just seemed to make everything okay.

There was still a chance, she reasoned. Cinda was a better water mage than Juvia, but Juvia was the most beautiful, right? What if Fairy Tail held a beauty contest, and Gray could see that Juvia was the prettiest? As Juvia's thoughts calmed down, she thought of the many more alternative ways she could win Gray's heart.

Juvia climbed out of the bath, now refreshed and calm, the feeling of love for Gray buzzing in her heart. Cinda was just passing through after all, she wasn't sticking around. The dragon slayer was only temporary.

Juvia walked calmly to the Fairy Tail guildhall. She was going to find Lucy – After thinking about it and calming down, the idea of going on a mission with Lucy seemed quite alluring, and Juvia actually found herself excited over the matter.

As she opened the doors and stepped inside, Juvia found one of her nightmares was being turned to reality. Juvia's calm face grew tired, and drooped down into a frown as she watched the sight before her. Mirajane stamped Cinda's neck with a light blue stamp, leaving the mark of Fairy Tail on this new member. Gray stood next to her, passively stripping whilst Mirajane and Cinda cheered. So Cinda had joined the guild. So Cinda would be staying. The dragon slayer was permanent. No matter. Juvia was permanent, too.


	3. God Slayer Magic

**AN: **Yay, my first reviews! Thanks everyone for the favourites, follows and reviews!

There's a poll up on my profile for the best ship name for this pairing, if anyone's interested.

Blackberry: Yup, I'll keep this up, for as long as I have readers to satisfy. :3

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><p>Juvia was okay. At least, that's what she had been telling herself, and that combined with the fact that she was going on a mission with her friend Lucy Heartfilia had caused Juvia to perk right up. Their mission was to retrieve an ancient treasure that was believed to be in the wreckage of a sunken ship, which came with a neat reward of 500,000 Jewels. Juvia presumed that Lucy had chosen the mission because of the time they would spend underwater, which was probably an attempt by Lucy to make the job more exciting to Juvia. As Juvia grew more and more excited, she admitted to herself that Lucy's attempt wasn't in vain.<p>

The two friends sat next to each other in the back of the carriage, bumping around as it travelled over the rocky road. They were heading to a closed off area by the ocean, away from any town and village. Apparently the requester was a hermit. Juvia looked out the window at the pristine blue sea as the sun shone just over the horizon, casting an extremely bright light onto the water, which reflected back up into the sky and the water mage's eyes. It was a truly beautiful sight, but then again, that was mostly because the water was a truly beautiful thing.

Lucy had convinced Juvia that Cinda joining wasn't the end of the world. She said that if Gray truly loved Juvia – which Juvia knew he did – then it didn't matter if other women would appear, because Gray's love, like Juvia's, would be unfaltering and infinite. Juvia was amazed by the optimistic look Lucy had on the matter. It seemed that the blonde would be an expert on dating, so Juvia didn't understand how Lucy had never dated anyone.

Lucy was a beautiful, stunning young woman, with a great personality and an attractive figure. She could have any man in Fiore she wanted! So why was she single? Had Lucy just not found 'the one' yet, like Juvia had? She and everyone else had believed it to be Natsu, but as Juvia conversed with the celestial spirit mage, she found it hard to believe that someone so intelligent like Lucy could possibly form a romantic relationship with the idiot Natsu was.

Juvia admitted, perhaps Gray wasn't the brightest tool in the shed either, but he was most definitely smarter than the flame-brained dragon slayer.

"Looks like we're here." Lucy noted as the carriage slowed to a halt, the two mages leaving after paying the fare. As they approached the cosy wooden cabin, Juvia couldn't help but be in awe at how beautiful it was. Unfortunately, its beauty would go unappreciated, as the requester lived in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps he was an old hermit of a man then, Juvia thought. But regardless, he had good taste, judging from the ocean he decided to plop the house down next to.

After knocking the door, it opened almost instantly, revealing a young male with short spiky red hair and streaks of neon orange running through. He grinned as he saw the two women, opening the door widely and beckoning them to come in.

"Lucy Heartfilia and Juvia Lockser of Fairy Tail." He remarked as he walked into what looked to be a kitchen area. Juvia's eyes scanned the room. It seemed that the kitchen, living room and dining room were all blended into one, with only two other doors in the house.

"I watched you in the Grand Magic Games, you were both amazing! Can I make you ladies anything to drink?" He asked as he rummaged through a cupboard. "I want to talk to you about the job, so you'll have time for one." He waved his free hand to the settees, gesturing for them to sit.

"I'll have a coffee, please." Lucy accepted.

"Juvia will have one too, thank you."

As he made the coffees, Juvia and Lucy made themselves comfortable in the low-seated settees he had. They were of nice design – the whole place was, in Juvia's view. The man clearly had good taste.

"You have a nice house." Juvia complimented as he approached with two steaming mugs. He laid them down on the table, taking a seat on the opposite side.

"Thanks." He said. "You're the first to say so. Although that's probably because you're the first people I've had over."

"Why is that?" Juvia asked. "Such a beautiful house, surely one would want to show off their superior taste?"

"I don't have many friends." He admitted. "Plus, I don't want people around here much. This is my training ground, too."

"Oh? What are you training for?" Lucy asked, sipping her coffee.

"Well, you know that girl from the Magic Games, Chelia, the sky god slayer?" He asked.

Lucy and Juvia both nodded. He laughed then. "Of course you know who I'm talking about. You were both there after all. It really is nice to meet you both."

"It's nice to meet you too…" Lucy said. "Err…."

"Oranet." He answered. "Anyway, that Chelia, she learned the god slayer magic from a book, didn't she?"

"That's right." Lucy confirmed.

"That's what I wish to do. The only problem is, however, the book is rare."

"That is a big problem." Juvia commented.

Oranet stood and walked to a bookshelf, retrieving a map. He laid it down on the table, before pointing at an X he had clearly marked on earlier. "There was a boat that set off from here a few years ago. It was going to travel here, but it never arrived." He said, pointing to several different points on the map as he spoke. "After a lot of research, I've found out that it was transporting books as it's main cargo, mostly fiction."

Juvia caught Lucy's eyes gleam. Of course, the avid reader and writer was likely all to pleased to hear that they would soon be surrounded by books. Wet, soggy, underwater books, but books nevertheless.

"However, after that, a certain book was missing from its owner. The 'God Slayer Magic' book. I believe it's still on that boat, just waiting to be found." He grew excited as he spoke. "My mission for you is to retrieve that book."

"But it'll be ruined by the water." Lucy said. "You can't read a book that's been underwater for years…"

"You can if it hasn't been exposed to water." He laughed. "It's rare, so my guess is they would have kept it locked up somewhere, likely in some sort of safe."

"Juvia is perhaps just being curious, but what god slayer magic do you intend on learning?"

"I'm going to be an earth god slayer." He said. "The land around here needs some terraforming. I'm going to make it look good."

Juvia smiled. She agreed; a beautiful house should have a beautiful landscape to go with it.

Juvia and Lucy soon left the house, after Oranet had finished babbling on about how he was going to turn his whole section of land into a work of art. Juvia and Lucy had since entered the ocean and began their search. Since the ship could have sunk at any point between the two landmasses, they had a lot of searching to do.

With the vast area to cover, Juvia knew it would be more efficient to have multiple search parties, but unfortunately, Lucy had to remain with Juvia at all times. The water bubble allowing Lucy to breathe would disappear if they got too far apart, so Lucy held onto Juvia's back as the two swum together.

Aquarius could have helped, but Lucy didn't seem to keen on summoning that certain celestial spirit. It seemed that Lucy only called out Aquarius in the direst of circumstances.

As Juvia swam, her mind was plagued with a certain thought. God slayer magic. More specifically, water god slayer magic. If Juvia had that book for herself, she could learn water god slayer magic and surpass Cinda with ease. She had been thinking it since he mentioned that book, and now, as she was swimming in search of it, she couldn't help but want it for herself. She would never learn it in time for the Lovers' Competition though, that was, after all, only six days away, but she could use it to defeat Cinda once and for all.

"Maybe when he's done learning his magic, you can borrow the book from him?" Lucy suggested, speaking as if she had been reading her thoughts the whole time. "It's obvious." Lucy commented. "I mean, anyone in your situation would at least think about it. God slayers are supposedly stronger than dragon slayers, too." She added, prompting Juvia to think again about how much stronger she would be than Cinda.

"Why doesn't Lucy pick up a god slayer magic too?" Juvia questioned. Lucy was a holder mage, but surely someone of her intelligence could pick up another magic with ease, only adding to her power.

Lucy laughed, and then seemed to pause for a minute. "I'm a celestial spirit mage, my heart lies with my spirits."

"Yes, but surely when you're fighting alongside your spirits, it would be beneficial to have caster magic."

"But…" Lucy started. "My spirits are the most important things in the world to me! If I start learning another magic, I wouldn't call them out as much… I'd miss them…" She trailed off.

Juvia just nodded in reply, realising that perhaps she should cease conversation about this specific topic. Lucy was obviously touchy on the subject. Perhaps Juvia could talk to Lucy about this later, when they were under better circumstances. Right now, they needed to focus on the mission at hand, which was – Juvia gasped suddenly, an idea shooting through her mind.

What if after she had learned water god slaying magic, she could give it to Gray so that he could learn ice god slaying magic and become stronger? Or perhaps the two could train alongside each other. It would be so romantic! She could imagine holding Gray's hand, as they took down their enemies with the combined elements that complemented each other so well – the union of water and ice.

Juvia needed that book. She would take it herself; she would pry it from the cold dead hands of – No. She wouldn't. That was not the way Juvia did things anymore, not since she joined the wonderful guild of Fairy Tail. Juvia would complete her mission to the best of her ability, and accept the fact that the book did not belong to her.

"There!" Lucy exclaimed, pointing in the distance to an old wooden ship and bringing Juvia from her thoughts. The whole thing was split into two, with at least fifty meters between each half. Juvia changed her direction, swimming quickly towards the sunken boat, before stopping between the two sides.

Lucy climbed off Juvia's back, swimming with her own strength into the back end of the ship, Juvia following quickly. They swam through the hallway, each side covered in books, once protected by now broken glass doors. Juvia hoped the book they were after would be in a much better condition.

They continued swimming through the hallway until they reached an open area, where one steel chest, completely covered in rusted chains sat. It looked hard, and would almost certainly be nigh impossible to break open. Gajeel on the other hand would be able to get through it with no problem, but alas, it was just the two women on the job.

"Gate of the Lion, I open thee! Leo!" Lucy swished her key through the water, before a familiar celestial spirit appeared. Juvia immediately created a bubble of water around his head, though she wished that Lucy would have the common sense to warn her. Leo swung his fist at the padlock holding it together, shattering it almost instantly. It was impressive, to say the least.

Lucy swam to the box, before pulling the lid off and peering inside. Juvia joined her, looking inside at the translucent plastic packaging. Through it, she saw the words 'God Slayer Magic' printed onto a fine leather-bound book. For the amount of money they would be earning from this mission, it had so far been extremely easy. The hardest part for Juvia would be willingly handing the book over to Oranet… She would just have to trust Lucy with that responsibility.

Juvia looked back up from the box as Lucy grabbed the book, still in its packaging. Then Juvia noticed something eerily different – the water in the area had changed in colour, its usual murky green now a poisonous purple. And Juvia… Juvia was starting to feel… She turned around with as much speed as she could muster. Loke had gone, but in his place stood a truly horrendous creature – what looked to be a cross between a large crab and a squid. It shot purple ink from little holes on the underside of his pincers. No, that wasn't ink… Juvia concluded that it must have been some sort of poison, right before she fell into unconsciousness.

The water mage soon awakened, and her first thought was that without Juvia's water bubble, Lucy must have drowned. Falling unconscious would broken the water bubble around Lucy, meaning she had no oxygen to breathe. But as Juvia rolled onto her side in the sand, she knew things had somehow turned out okay. She opened her eyes, the harsh rays of the sun piercing them.

"Juvia?" Asked a familiar blonde, her voice wavering. Juvia looked over to see Lucy, also sprawled across the sand. She was safe, but the book wasn't with her.

"Are you going to thank me?" asked a rough voice Juvia immediately recognised as the spirit Lucy had previously been against summoning. So in the end, Lucy did summon Aquarius? The mermaid humphed. "Typical, no manners."

"Thank you, Aquarius-san." Juvia said.

"I was talking to miss no-boyfriend over there." She grumbled in reply, her eyes locked on Lucy.

Boyfriend. Of course! Aquarius had a boyfriend; maybe she could give Juvia some advice?

"Aquarius-san!"

"Yes?"

"Juvia would like to know how you and Scorpio got together!"

Aquarius' tough façade disappeared for a few seconds as she began to blush wildly.

"Sco-Sco-Scorpio…" She muttered. Was she as head over heels for her boyfriend as Juvia was for Gray? Aquarius quickly shook herself, her tough posture returning. "That's not important. Why do you ask?"

"Juvia wants to know how to get Gray-sama to love her."

"Oh." Aquarius answered. "I see. Guys like it when you play hard to get. Don't start a conversation with him; make him start one with you. Don't obsess over him; let him obsess over you. Just ignore him. If the guy likes you, he'll play chase."

"Gray-sama…" Juvia muttered. Could she do that to Gray? The ice make wizard had always been cold towards her, but she wasn't sure if she could bring herself to return the act.

"Juvia." Aquarius said.

"Yes?"

"Be cold." And with that, the mermaid disappeared in a shimmer of gold. As she did so, she dropped something onto the sand – something Juvia and Lucy were relieved to see. It was the book they had been after.

"Juvia is relieved you summoned her." Juvia commented. "Perhaps her advice will be useful."

"I didn't summon her… I guess this time she summoned herself." Lucy said, glancing over at Juvia. "About what Aquarius said…" She began.

"Let's just bring the book back." Juvia cut off. "It's about time Juvia tried a different approach anyway, don't you think?" Juvia wasn't sure whether she could do it, but she had to at least try. She had used the same obsessive approach with Gray since she first met him, so maybe a change of pace would let him see a different part of her.

As the two mages arrived at the house, Lucy traded the book for the jewels, immediately giving Juvia her half before declining another drink with the man. Perhaps the reason the reward was so large was due to the amount it was worth. Juvia had no clue as to an actual figure, but surely it must have sold for more than they received on the market.

They stepped outside the house, boarding the carriage again after their mission and preparing to go home. They were just setting off, when Lucy abruptly spoke up.

"Hey, actually, could you wait just a minute?" She asked, before quickly scrambling out of the carriage. Where was she going? Was she going to ask the mage for contact details? Did she intend to enter the Lovers' Competition with him? Juvia continued her wild train of thoughts, until a few minutes later the blonde returned with the simple answer of: "I needed to go to the toilet."

Juvia supposed she overthought things. Again.


End file.
